Raising My Expectations of God

In my review of Hebrews 11:1 it says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Bottom Line:

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and the certainty about what we cannot see.

What this means to me:

To have faith is to have a confident assurance that what I hope for will happen, and the assurance that what I don’t see will be waiting for me.

God will work in people’s hearts when we expect him to do so.

Rick Warren explains that before each service at his Church, he prays, “God, it would be a waste of time to go out there and talk to those people without expecting you to do something. So I’m going to thank you in advance for changing lives. I expect it to happen in faith. Not because of who I am, but because of who you are.” That is the faith that God uses to change lives.

I think very few people come to Jesus Christ the first time they hear the Good News. Like me, it may take them a while to think about it and additional time to make the right decision.

What I’m learning is that I should never give up on anyone. I need to trust God. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (NIV).

If there is someone I’d like to see become a believer, I need to start praying in faith, expecting God to act. Faith is certain of what we do not see. You need to say to God, “I don’t see them warming up to you at all. But I’m going to pray and expect that you’re working in their lives, even when I can’t see it.”

I’m reminded of the story in the Bible of the four guys who had a friend who was paralyzed? They believed Jesus could heal their friend, so they put him on a mat and took him to Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven” (Luke 5:20b), and he healed the man.

Jesus healed the paralyzed man on the basis of the friends’ faith, not the guy who was sick. Sometimes you have to believe in faith for other people and expect God to act. Put a little faith in a big God, and you’ll get big results.

In summary I need to believe in faith for others and expect God to act. God will work in people’s hearts when we expect him to do so. I should pray for God to do something and thank him in advance for doing it. I should learn to raise my expectations of God. If I just put a little faith in a big God, and I’ll see big results.